Orchid-Trip

Italian Man Orchid / Wavy-leaved Monkey Orchid (Orchis italica)

I had met Philip Precey from wildlife travel/UK in the Spanish Extremadura some weeks ago - an excellent naturalist with a wide ranging knowledge. He said he would be planing to visit the Algarve, for birds but also flowers and other wildlife. So, when he came last Friday, we started near the airport with a brief birding trip at around 11 a.m. after he landed. We had excellent views of Little Bittern, 2 to 3 males and one female, among others. One male was singing when we arrived at the place. After a quick but relaxed lunch break we headed north into the "Barrocal" - the limestone-belt between the coast and the Serra, for orchids and other plants. We found seven or eight different Orchid species at least that afternoon. When checking for one Id, I found this very nice homepage in the internet, about "European Orchids and their hybrids" (D/Eng.) - its very useful.


Barrocal-area near Salir, Central Algarve.


Woodcock-Orchid (Ophrys scolopax ssp.)


Yellow Bee Orchid (Ophrys lutea)


Orchis morio ???


Sawfly-Orchid (Ophrys tendredinifera)


...and back to the birds:

Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) female.